Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) Shares Gap Up Following Strong Earnings

Cognex Co. (NASDAQ:CGNX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $40.46, but opened at $43.39. Cognex shares last traded at $42.89, with a volume of 426,279 shares trading hands.

The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $234.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.86 million. Cognex had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 4.97%.

Cognex Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a positive change from Cognex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Cognex’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGNX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens raised shares of Cognex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cognex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Cognex from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Cognex in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Cognex from $41.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $38.04 per share, for a total transaction of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Cognex news, Director Dianne M. Parrotte acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $38.62 per share, for a total transaction of $77,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,950.80. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Dennis Fehr purchased 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $38.04 per share, with a total value of $249,922.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,922.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CGNX. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Cognex by 986.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,007 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,679,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469,961 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Cognex during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,502,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in Cognex by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,098,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $237,812,000 after buying an additional 1,259,116 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Cognex by 41.4% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,716,623 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $157,659,000 after buying an additional 1,088,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Cognex by 132.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,272,640 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,509,000 after purchasing an additional 723,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.12% of the company’s stock.

Cognex Stock Up 4.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.76 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.93.

Cognex Company Profile

Cognex Corporation provides machine vision products that capture and analyze visual information to automate manufacturing and distribution tasks worldwide. Its machine vision products are used to automate the manufacturing and tracking of discrete items, including mobile phones, electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce packages by locating, identifying, inspecting, and measuring them during the manufacturing or distribution process.